


Holding the Baby

by lha



Series: Gabriel Lorca: Child-whisperer [1]
Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Baby, Fluff without Plot, Inspired by Twitter, M/M, Paternal Lorca
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-16
Updated: 2018-02-16
Packaged: 2019-03-19 10:29:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13702632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lha/pseuds/lha
Summary: Inspired by a delightful pic of Jason Isaacs shared on twitter.Gabriel is left holding the baby at an official function.





	Holding the Baby

**Author's Note:**

> Here is the lovely tweet from @Vintage1983v
> 
> https://twitter.com/Vintage1983V/status/964426796224495616

Gabriel detested dress uniform. He took great pride in being smartly turned out but the complete lack of practicality in his current garb upset him no end. It was only one of many reasons that he disliked this type of event.

“Oh, thank heavens,” Hugh Culber said, approaching through the crowd, laden down with not only his and Paul’s youngest child but all the paraphernalia that seemed to come with it. “Here, would you take Jess,” he asked while unceremoniously thrusting the six month old into his arms, “Daisy has just found the dessert table and Paul is running late.”

“I…” Gabriel began, floundering a little.

“She’ll probably cry, don’t worry she’s just going through a phase.” And with that, a bag was hung over his shoulder and he was alone in the crowd again. With a baby.

“Well,” Gabriel said, looking down at the child, “that was unexpected.” Jess gurgled in return looking up at him with big blue eyes. Rearranging the bag, and the child Gabriel considered that it was remarkable how much like Paul that this one of the Culber-Stamets offspring looked, all pale skin and clear eyes. She blinked at him and he was entranced until suddenly a small hand grasped at his lapel and started pulling at the fastening. “Hey,” he chided trying to untangle her chubby hand but while he focussed on that her other fist reached up and tried to grab his nose. “Now that’s enough of that,” he said, despite realising that it was useless to try and reason with her.

Repositioning her again, hoping to move both his medals and his face out of easy grasping range, he found that the dress she was wearing seemed to have slipped up exposing her nappy to the entire room.

“For goodness sake,” he sighed, trying to rearrange the fabric all while Jess was wriggling like a thing possessed. There was audible snap as one of his commendations was detached and with remarkable haste shoved into a gummy smile. “You and I are going to have to have words young lady,” Gabriel said beneath his breath.

“Hugh sent me to rescue you,” Paul Stamets said dryly, looking equally uncomfortable in his dress uniform, “but it looks like you’ve got everything in hand.”

“I’m not sure how you define ‘in hand’ Commander Stamets but…”

“She’s not crying, that’s almost a miracle these days,” he said frankly holding his arms open to take her back. Gabriel gladly went to hand her over but as he did so, she squealed loudly and turned away into his chest. “See?” Paul said holding his arms out in a shrug before stepping back.

“Aren’t you going to...?” Gabriel asked, bouncing his knees instinctively as she rubbed her wet nose against his shoulder grumbling still.

“She’ll scream the place down if a do.” Paul said and Gabriel was almost certain that there was amusement behind his usual flat demeanor.

“And you’d have robbed me of this beautiful sight,” Katrina said coming up with a glass of scotch in each hand. Now that Jess seemed to have quite happily settled in the crook of his arm, chewing on the ribbon of his medal Gabriel managed to free up a hand to hold out for the glass he was fairly sure had been intended for him.

“Oh no, I brought this because I thought I was going to have to tempt you out from where you were moping in the corner. No drinking in charge of other people’s children though. Here, Paul.” Handing the glass over to the other man seemed like adding insult to injury.

“Papa!” The excited call and the patter of slightly unsteady feet resulted in the other guests parting to allow Daisy through, dragging an apologising Hugh behind her. “I’s had chocolate cake!”

“I can see,” Paul said. It was liberally smeared across her hands and face and also explained why Hugh was very carefully holding her arms away from his pristine white dress uniform.

“Would you grab the wipes?” Hugh asked, with a look of desperation.

“Sure,” Paul said, using one hand to open the bag Gabriel still had slung over his shoulder and retrieved a cloth of some sort. “Daisy come over here, no don’t touch Captain Lorca,” Gabriel had backed away from her sticky paws just in time. Paul held his glass up above his head as he crouched down and Hugh seamlessly retrieved it, taking a relieved sip. Gabriel tried not to be too jealous.

“Everytime we bring them to these things,” Hugh said, “I swear never again.”

“I said I’d stay home…” Paul pointed out from the ground where he was finishing up his cleaning job.

“If I have to be here, then so do you. No offence Admiral,” he added, lifting his glass to Katrina.

“None taken,” she said returning the gesture, “at least someone seems to have been enjoying themselves.” The level of contained amusement in her tone, made Gabriel look up from his study of the child now limp and heavy in his arms.

“What?” Gabriel asked frowning, only for everyone else to start snorting.

“S’eepy Jess, happy Cap’n!” Daisy declared from where she was now perched on Paul’s hip.

Gabriel looked around at the happy faces surrounding him and then back at the child pressed against his chest ans supposed that she was right.


End file.
